Shore Sweep

Shore Sweep is an annual project that is supported by over 1,000 volunteers. The event removes an astonishing 30 – 50 tonsof trash from the lake.

THE BIG CLEAN-UP

Lake Lanier Association’s annual Shore Sweep takes place on a Saturday in late September for the benefit of Lake Lanier and all that enjoy its beauty. Hundreds of volunteers come together for one BIG day of getting their hands dirty — literally. People walk the shorelines and travel the lake by boat, collecting trash in all shapes and size, from plastic water bottles to dock floatation blocks, dysfunctional lawn chairs, coolers, abandoned floats…the list is endless.

For 2018 we are celebrating our 30th Anniversary of the Shore Sweep event! We estimate that we have collected over 1,000 tons of trash in the 30 years we have been doing Shore Sweep so our tag line for the event this year is “30 Years & A 1000 Tons Of Fun!” This year, to celebrate and to get a jump on planning Shore Sweep 2018, we are hosting a pre-Shore Sweep celebration party. We will be at Lake Lanier Olympic Park on Saturday, 8/25 from 1:00-4:00PM. Admission is free to the event. There will be a live band, fun and games for kids and adults, free food tickets for anyone that signs up to volunteer at the 2018 Shore Sweep event, and a gift given to everyone that comes through the gate wearing a Shore Sweep t-shirt from the past. We are even planning some fun prizes for people wearing the oldest vintage Shore Sweep t-shirt so start digging through the t-shirt drawer and find one of those old gems.

With over 1,000 volunteers – lake residents, marina employees, recreational boaters and anyone else willing to lend a hand – collecting trash along the shores of Lake Lanier, Shore Sweep is an enormous success. Drop-off locations at parks, boat ramps, and participating marinas all around the lake make it easy for volunteers to dispose of the trash they collect. We have even seen some crews head out over and over again, bringing in loads of trash for hours. Each year there are those who try to break the record Captain Rick Marton set when he and his crew collected 9 tons of trash!

One of our awesome volunteers put together these quick instructions about what to expect the day of the Shore Sweep event.

VOLUNTEERS

As a Shore Sweep Volunteer, the first thing you need is…you guessed it — trash bags! Volunteers may pick up trash bags to collect trash from the shoreline at many locations around the lake. Those same locations participate as trash drop-off locations. Lake Lanier Islands even allows volunteers to enter at no charge through the main gate to collect trash around its shoreline and property.

In addition to our day-of-event locations, there are several advance drop-off locations around the lake. Volunteers can bring bagged trash or large items to these locations for 2 weeks prior to the BIG DAY. LLA schedules barges to pick up at all these locations. Bringing items to the advance drop-off locations during the week prior to Shore Sweep gives everyone around the lake a great way to contribute.

Shore Sweep Advance Drop Information

In addition to the day of the event participating locations, we also have eight advance drop off locations around the lake. The advance locations are open two weeks prior to the event and will stay open through Friday evening, 9/14. You can go ahead and bring bagged trash or large items and leave them at one of these locations. We have volunteers with boats scheduled to pick up at all these locations on Saturday morning for removal. Especially if you are not available to help with Shore Sweep on 9/15, bringing items to the advance locations during the week is a great way to contribute to this event even if your schedule won’t allow you to be there on Saturday.

For the advance locations, THEY ONLY ACCEPT TRASH WHILE THE SHORE SWEEP SIGNS ARE IN PLACE. Please DO NOT bring trash to these locations other times of the year. Below is the list of advance locations. If you bring trash to any of these locations, please look for the signs posted and leave the debris close to the signs.

The lake map coordinates are from the Atlantic Mapping Recreation and Fishing Guide for Lake Lanier.

Shore Sweep Event Day

For the actual day of this year’s event, Saturday 9/15/2018, drop-off sites open at 8:00AM and will stay open until 1:00PM.We need volunteers by land as well as by water. For our by water volunteers, power boats, jet skis, pontoons, kayaks and canoes all have a place at this event.

There are 11 participating locations that you can choose to report to volunteer:

Bald Ridge Marina, by the boat ramp, next to the gas dock

Aqualand Marina, around to the south eastern corner of the Aqualand property, by the maintenance yard boat ramp